Multiconductor cable connector assembly



March 25, 1969 J, J CHURLA MULTICONDUCTOR CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY Filed Aug. 29, 1966 JOHN .z CHl/RLA United States Patent 3,435,403 MULTICONDUCTOR CABLE CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY John J. Churla, Raritan, N.J., assignor to Thomas & Betts Corporation, Elizabeth, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Aug. 29, 1966, Ser. No. 575,684 Int. Cl. H011 23/44; H05k J/07 U.S. Cl. 339-17 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A multiconductor cable connector assembly which comprises a connector having a plurality of terminal pins with rearwardly extending downwardly angled terminal portions. Multiconductor flat cable having a plurality of insulated conductors stripped of insulation at the ends thereof are abutted against the downwardly angled portions of the pins of the connector and electrically connected thereto. A rigid lower member and an upper strain relief member are provided, the lower member being aflixed to the connector and the strain relief member being afiixed to the lower member. The multiconductor fiat cable is sandwiched between the lower and strain relief members.

This invention relates to connector assemblies for multiconductor flat cable and more particularly to connector assemblies for multiconductor flat cable wherein multiconductor flat cable is terminated to a connector having rearwardly projecting terminal portions which are angled.

A commonly used connector in electronic applications comprises a connector block having a plurality of female pins inserted therein. The female pins have terminal portions projecting rearwardly thereof, the ends of which are bent at 90 from the rearwardly projecting portion. In prior art applications utilizing this type of connector, a plurality of twisted wire pairs were terminated to the pins of the connector by means of a printed circuit board which acted as a bridge between the twisted wire condoctors and the connector. The connector was secured to the board by suitable fasteners with the angled terminal portions of the pins projecting into holes provided in the board and passing through conductors which had been printed on the board. Thus the printed circuit board would have a plurality of individual conductive tabs, depending upon the number of pins to be terminated to the circuit board of the connector. The individual angled portion of the pin would project into the hole in the conductor board at one end and the pin soldered to the conductor to form an electrical connection. At the other end of the printed circuit board, the individual wire conductors would be inserted into holes at the other end of the printed circuit board and soldered to make electrical connection between the individual wire conductors and the conductor tabs on the circuit board. The bunch of individual wires were then clamped together rearwardly of the printed circuit board to provide strain relief.

This connector assembly suffered from a number of disadvantages. First of all, the strain relief did not effectively prevent individual wires from breaking olf contact with the printed circuit board. Secondly, since there were two electrical connections between the individual wire conductor and the connector pin, that is, one connection between the wire and the circuit board conductor and a second connection between the circuit board conductor and the connector pin, the likelihood of a breach in the electrical connection was increased, thereby decreasing reliability of the overall assembly. Since such a connector assembly comprised a number of individual components, namely a plurality of individual conductors, a printed circuit board, and a cable clamp, the time for assemblin such a cable assembly was considerable.

In order to overcome the inherent disadvantages of this prior art connector assembly, the connector assembly of the present invention was developed. According to the present invention, multiconductor flat cable is utilized in lieu of round wire conductors. The conductors of the fiat cable are terminated directly to the pins of the connector by means of a special strain relief assembly. The connector assembly is compatible with electronic applications wherein such a connector is utilized, while at the same time providing a more compact connector assembly.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly which is easy and economical to manufacture and assemble.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly utilizing multiconductor flat cable which provides direct electrical connection between the conductors of the cable and the connector pins of a multiple pin connector.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly utilizing multiconductor flat cable wherein the conductors of the cable may be easily terminated to the angled terminal portions of the pins of the multiple pin connector.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly utilizing multiconductor flat cable which provides positive strain relief of the cable to prevent breaking of connection between conductors and connector pins.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly utilizing multiconductor flat cable which is compact and takes up comparatively little space.

Other and further objects of the present invention will become evident from the following description and drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the connector assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the components of the connector assembly of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a partially sectional elevational vie-w taken along line 33 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the figures, there is shown a multiple pin connector 10 comprising a connector block 12 having a plurality of connector pins 14. Connector pins 14- have rearwardly projecting terminal portions which are angled as at 16. Pins 14 are inserted in channels 18 of connector 10.

A rigid board 20 of suitable material such as phenolic, plastic, aluminum or the like is provided with a recess 22 along one longitudinal edge thereof. Terminal portions 16 of connector 10 are adapted to abut against the back wall of recess 22 when connector 10 is affixed to board 20. Connector 10 is provided with fastener holes 24 which are adapted to receive fasteners 26. Any suitable fasteners may be utilized such as rivets, screws and nuts or the like.

in O

A pair of multiconductor flat cables 28 and 30 are provided with a plurality of conductors 32. Together, cables 28 and 30 are provided with the necessary or desired number of conductors to be terminated to multiple pin connector 10. In order to reduce the space required for cables 28 and 30, cables 28 and 30 are laid on top of each other outside the connector assembly. Within the connector assembly, the cables are folded in such manner that cable 28 is displaced a sufficient distance laterally from cable 30, that the individual conductors of cables 28 and 30 are lined up side by side rather than on top of one another. This is shown more clearly in FIGURE 2, where cable 28 is shown bent at a first 90 angle at 34 and bent at a second 90 angle at 36, so that the cable is displaced to the left. In similar manner, cable 30 is bent at a 90 angle at 38 and again at 40 to displace cable 30 to the right. Thus, the individual conductors 32 will be side by side at the ends thereof for suitable termination to connector 10.

The conductors 32 of cables 28 and 30 are stripped of insulation at their ends prior to termination to multiple pin connector 10. Cables 28 and 30 are then laid on board 20 with the ends of conductors 32 bent at a 90 angle such as to abut against the rearward wall of recess 22. Connector is then secured to board 20 by fasteners 26, the downwardly bent terminal portions 16 of pins 14 abutting against the downwardly bent conductors 32 of cables 28 and 30. Conductors 32 are then soldered to portions 16 of pins 14 to complete electrical connection between cables 28 and 39 and connector 10. In order to facilitate the soldering, the stripped ends of conductors 32 of cables 28 and 30 are preferably tinned prior to assembly with connector 10. In like manner, connector pins 14 may also be tinned.

In order to provide strain relief and support for cables 28 and 30, a strain relief member 42 of rigid material such as phenolic, plastic or the like is provided. Strain relief member 42 is ribbed on its upper surface, having ribs 44 to facilitate gripping of the completed connector assembly. Member 42 is provided with holes 46 which are adapted to align with holes 48 in board 20 so that member 42 may be fastened to board 26 by suitable fasteners such as rivets 50. Pull member 42 is provided with a curved rearward portion 52 to allow flexing of cables 28 and 30 without unduly stressing these cables. Cables 28 and 30 are preferably affixed together as with band 54 at the entry of the cables to the connector assembly.

Although a specific embodiment of the connector assembly has been described hereinabove and shown in the drawings, it will be understood that other Variations on the specific embodiment are intended to be within the scope of the present invention. Thus, the number of condoctors to be terminated to connector 10 will vary with the exigencies of the particular application in which the connector assembly is to be used. Similarly, any material which provides rigid support for the connector and for the multiconductor cables may be used for both board 20 and strain relief member 42. Although a pair of multiconductor cables is shown, it will be understood that either a single cable or a plurality of cables other than two may be terminated to a suitable connector and terminal board since this is merely a matter of design.

Thus it will be seen that the connector assembly of the present invention overcomes the undesirable features of the prior art connector assembly. In lieu of multiple individual wire conductors, flat multiconductor cable is substituted. Such substitution eliminates the need for termination of the wire conductors to a printed circuit board and thereafter terminating the connector pins to the circuit board. In such manner, the number of electrical connections between the conductors and the connector pins has been cut in half, thus increasing the reliability of the connector assembly. Effective strain relief is provided by sandwiching the board between a strain relief member and a supporting board to which the connector is secured.

Fracture of the multiconductor cables at the point of entry into the sandwich is prevented by providing a curvature at the end of the strain relief member to allow free flexing. Ribbing on the upper surface of the strain relief member allows for positive gripping of the connector assembly so that the assembly may be mated or unmated with a suitable terminal block. Assembly of the connector assembly is facilitated by providing simultaneous tinning of the connectors of the multiconductor cable rather than individual tinning of separate wire conductors. Use of multiconductor cable also provides for quicker soldering of the conductors to the connector pins, since soldering may be done by a multiple unit soldering iron, thus again facilitating and cutting down in assembly time.

Although specific embodiments have been described hereinabove and illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood that other embodiments well known to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, this invention is not to be limited by such preferred embodiment, but rather by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A multiconductor cable connector assembly comprising a connector having a plurality of terminal pins having rearwardly extending downwardly angled terminal portions, multiconductor flat cable having a plurality of insulated conductors, a rigid lower member and an upper strain relief member, the ends of the conductors of said cable having insulation stripped therefrom, and being abutted against said downwardly angled portions of said pins and soldered thereto, said lower member being affixed to said connector and said strain relief member being afiixed to said lower member, said cable being sandwiched between said lower member and said strain relief member.

2. The connector assembly of claim 1 wherein said rigid lower member has a longitudinal recess along the front edge thereof, said ends of said conductors of said cable are bent down into said recess and said angled portions of said pins abut against said cable such that said conductors are sandwiched between the rear wall of recess of said lower member and the faces of said pins.

3. The connector assembly of claim 1 wherein said strain relief member is ribbed on the upper surface thereof and has a rounded rearward edge to allow flexing of said cable without fracture of the conductors.

4. A multiconductor cable connector assembly comprising a connector having a plurality of terminal pins with rearwardly projecting downwardly angled terminal portions, flat cable means having a plurality of insulated conductors, a rigid lower member afiixed to said connector, an upper strain relief member affixed to said lower member, said cable being sandwiched between said members, the ends of said conductors of said cable being stripped of insulation and bent over the edge of said lower member to abut against said angled terminal portions of said pins of said connector, said conductors being electrically connected to said pins.

5. The connector assembly of claim 4 wherein said strain relief member is of insulating material, has its upper surface ribbed, and has a rounded rearward edge to allow flexing of said cable without fracture thereof.

6. The connector assembly of claim 4 wherein said flat cable means comprises a pair of multiconductor fiat cables, said cables being laid on top of each other near the entry thereof to said connector assembly, said cables being bent in such manner that the conductors of the cables are laterally displaced away from each other so that the conductors of the cables are lined up side by side in the region of connection of the conductors to the pins of said connector.

7. The connector assembly of claim 6 wherein said lower cable is displaced in one direction by a pair of bends placed in said cable and said upper cable is displaced in an opposite direction by a pair of 90 bends 5 6 placed in said cable, the near edges of said cables being 3,079,579 2/1963 Crimmins et a1 339-17 substantially adjacent each other at the ends thereof. 3,159,447 12/1964 Crimmins et a1 339--176 References Cited MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner. UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 PATRICK A. CLIFFORD, Assistant Examiner. 1,601,255 9/1926 Marra 339103 S CL R 3,065,445 11/1962 Crimmins 339176 339 17 3,076,951 2/1963 Swanson 339-91 

